Railway water-column



E. E.l JOHNSON. RAILWAY WATER COLUMN. APPLICATION fLLFD L `Ec.1. 151s.

Patented May 17, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHELL.

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rcfenI/or- E/dvfgrd EiJoImsox/c ma' AIL/@meg RAILWAY WATER COLUMN.

APPLICATION ,FILED DEC. l, |916.

1,378,236', Patented May 17,1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

-Ie l5 E/dvford Ef. J'Okrcolz EE. JOHNSN.

RAILWAY WATER COLUMN.

APPLICATION FILED Dec. e, me.

1,378,236. Patented May 17, 1921.

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Edv@ rd "1S/.Johnson 56 y 65 l :Bj

his Edi/owe@ E. E. JOHNSON. I

RAILWAY WATER COLUMN.

APPLICATION FILED Dc.1.1915.

. Patented May 17,1921.

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' Edv/ 1 Y'd E. Jokrsov( Bf MM i EDWARD E. JOHNSON, OF STsPAUL, MINI'NESOTA. l

RAILWAY WATER-COLUMN.

Specicaton of Letters Patent. Patel/[ted lusty 1.77,

Application mea December 1, i916. seal No. 134,474.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD E. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul,vin the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Water- Columns, of which the following is a specification. Y

My invention relates to railway water columns and has'for its object to provide in a water column structure a vnovel and highly efficient combination of curved delivery nozzle and discharge spout which will be economical to manufacture, install and maintain, which will be adapted to serve locomotive tenders of widely varying heights, which will facilitate the vflow of water through the standpipe and into the locomotive tender whatever the height'of the tender, which will provide free and ready drainage after the water has been shut off and the spout restored to initial position, which may be easily and conveniently operated for any'height of engine tender, and which will certainly avoid diiiculties fromthe formation of ice in winter. v

My invention relates to that class of water columns in which a central revoluble standpipe is employed having integrally connected therewith a delivery nozzle andV associated with the delivery nozzle a discharge spout which is movable relative to the'delivery nozzle insuch manner as to give iiexibility and a considerable vertical Arange tof the delivery end of the spout.l In constructions Vheretofore employed 'the discharge nozzle has been relatively short and extending at a comparatively 'sharp angle from the standpipe, and meansindependent of the nozzle have been required for supporting, guiding and controlling the discharge spout.

This has resulted not onlyin a more or less complicated and cumbersome mechanism for. supporting the spout and in material difficulties in giving the discharge end thereof sufiicient flexibility and vertical range to meet service conditions, involving expensive mechanism to assemble, but ralso has necessarily vresulted in decreasing the rate of flow of water because cf the sharp and tortuous bends involved,` and also because of the great height necessary in order to `obtain the requisite relative position of discharge nozzle and spout to meet requirements. My invention consists in a simple combination of devices which eliminates all of these diiiiculties, namely, the. provision v of an ,extended naturally-curved discharge nozzle.

forming a direct. continuation of the kstandpipe and extending outwardly therefrom a majorV partk of the distance necessary `to.-

bridge over from thestandpipe to the locomotive tender, and of a delivery spout ofl materially larger diameter having the same; curve as the discharge nozzle anddirectly mounted upon and movable thereon. The two cordinatingmembers `thus formv a broad continuous path of delivery from the standpipe to the manholeof the tenderv for either a high, or lowv tender without any separate or complicated supporting mechanism for the spout,with the eliminationof sharp changes in the water course and with a reduction `of several feet of maximum height above rails ofthe highest delivery point of the water. It is a further feature of ,my invention, and one which assures vits practicability and efficiency, that the Yextended curved delivery pipe kor nozzle, and the complemental curved discharge spout, are constructed of sheet metal welded lat all joints into perfect continuity. Thesemem-r4 the center of the standpipe land the center` of tlietraclc. I have found, however, that a more eflicient construction is produced by making this curve along the lines of an Archimedean spiral orrinvolute and -forming the discharge spout with ya similar curve along Athe top thereof and having' its bottom extended along a chord of such curve so as to form a greatly expanded central portion to said spout. This results in a greater downward dip of the end of the delivery pipe and to corresponding increased vertical range of the spout for a given head of Vwater, and v also a 4considerable lateral range for variant trackcenters, as will more fully appear hereinafter. y

Various features and .combinations of my iooV invention in its different details arelmore kfully and additionally lpointed *out -and claimed herein, so that the full objects and advantagesof my invention willmore fully appear in connection with such detailed description thereof, and are particularly pointed out in the claims. 1

In the drawings, illustrating the application of my invention in one form,-

Figure 1 is a side elevation view Vof the preferred form of my invention, showing the discharge spout in differentV positions. Fig. 2 is a similar view of a construction having an arcuate curve of delivery pipe and top of spout but with the chord formation of the under side of the spout. Fig. 3 is aview similar to-Fig. 1 of a construction embodying a discharge pipe and delivery spout both normally curved on an archaving a radius of half the distance between track center andrcenter of standpipe. Fig. 4 is an elevation view of the construction shown in Fig.

1 which also corresponds substantially to similar views of the constructionsof Figs. 2 and 8 taken along a plane passing through the curved delivery spout and pipe. Fig. 5 isa sectional detail taken on kline 5-5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a part sectional view showing morev in detail some of the'features of the construction of Fig. `3. Y Fig. 7 is aseotion on line 7-7 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 Vis a longitudinal section taken through the valveoperating mechanism of the construction shown in'Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 9'is a fragmentary detail view showing valve-operating mechanism entirely voutside of the standpipe. Fig. 10 is an additional part sectional view yshowing some modified features of the Vconstruction of Fig. 3. f

The standpipe 10. is of usual construction supported in a base 11,'so as to lbe revoluble therein and having a junction of the base. ual valve mechanism located at a suitable point below the base (not shown) is operated by a valve rod 13 within the standpipe, as; in Fig. 8, or 14 outside of the standpipe, as in Fig. 9. The end yof the standpipe 10 may, las in Fig.r9, be provided with a flange 15, or it may terminate with an uninterrupted externallythreaded portion 16 as shown in Fig. 8.

I provide a casting collar 17 formed with a-.lower peripheral flange 18 and an upper peripheral flange 19, and with a shaft 20 journaled in a portion of the collar 17. 1f an internal valve rod 13 is used the shaft will extend through stuffing-boxes of wellknown construction, and since the same collar may be economically employed for either external or internal valve construction, such stufling-boXes will, in practice, be generally used. Fast on the shaft 2O is an internal arm 21. connected with the internal valve rod 13 as shown in Fig. 8, or an external arm 22 connected with the external valve rod 14, as in Fig. 9. And also fast to the shaft 20 are arms 23 and 24 of a U-lever 25 which eX- tends upwardly and forwardly above the curved members hereinafter to be described. A chain 26 depending from the U end of this cap 12Y protecting the.

operating lever makes it readily practicable for the fireman to draw the same down, by which means the valve is operated. By means of a spring 47 in a housing 48 engaging a collar 49 on a rod 50 pivotally connected with arms 23 and 24 of the lever 25 of the standpipe `10 and carrying a weight 52 beyond such standpipe.

In case a standpipe-inv use has aV Vflange 15l on the upper end, the member 17 is bolted thereto by its flange 18 as shown 1n Fig. 9,

or in case the standpipe is plain at itsend and externally threaded, the internallythreaded portion of collar 17 may be applied thereto as shown inFg. 8.l This construc- Vtion renders my invention practically effec-f tive for application to standpipes already erected wherein the nozzle-and-spout arrangement in use is unsatisfactory, and particularly in those numerous cases where because of change in locomotive practice the old water columns are not high enough to meet service conditions. ,Y Y

The delivery nozzle of my invention is applied directly to the flange 19 of collar member 17 by means of a flange 27A which part of-a cast metal curved nozzle member. 28, but which preferably, as in Figs. 1, 3 and 8, is associated with a separate cast collar member 29, to vwhich in turn is welded may, asin Figs. 9 and 10, be an integral y,

a sheet metal delivery nozzle'GO or 80. The

delivery nozzle, either that'Y designated at 28 in Fig. 2 or that designated at 30 in Fig. 3, is curved o-n an arc which has a radius equal to or less than half the distance from the center of the standpipe to the center of the track, which corresponds tothe center of the water holes of locomotive tenders.

'Thus, if the standpipe werey designedv tobe used between tracks spaced sixteen feet apart between centers of said tracks the distance from the center of the standpipe to the. center of either track would be eight feet and the delivery nozzle `would be .curved'on a radius of substantially four feet. Furthermore, 'the' nozzle so curved is.l extended so that it will reach well beyond the vertical plane parallel with the track Imidway between track center and standpipe Vcenter when the nozzle is turned at right angles thereto. This isV practicable with a compartively low standpipe because'in swinging a nozzle into operative position neither it nor the spout'carried byy it, as willhereinafter appeargwill need to be swung directly over the coalgpile but will swing past the outer limits of the coal pile, where the coal cannot be much higher than the edge of the tender wall.' O n the end of each of the nozzles described herein is permanently secured a member by means of which either the nozzle itself,'or the nozzle and stand-V pipe may be revolved. In practice I employ the bail 46 secured to and bridging the end of the nozzle and forming a loop which may be enveloped. by the spout and which may easily be seized bythe hand or hook of the reman.

Upon the curved nozzle 30 of Fig. 3 moves in telescoping fashion an enlarged discharge spout 31. This discharge spout willv be sub'- stantially circular in vcross section and several inches larger in diameter than the vdelivery nozzle and will be curved in exact conformity thereto, at leastv the upper peripheral line of the discharge spout will be so curved. The discharge spout 31 as shown in Fig. 3 will preferably be formed of a multiplicity of transverse sections of sheet metal, such as galvanized iron, welded together at all joints 32 so as to form an integral curved member. This welding is performed in a well-known manner by what is known as the acetylene welding process. The delivery nozzle 30 will likewise be preferably formed in the same manner, the lower section being Welded to the collar, member 29, as indicated at 33, and each succeeding section welded together as indicated at 34 in Fig. 8. The discharge spout 31 is wholly supported upon and by the delivery nozzle 30 and can readily be moved along the same as desired by the brakeman or other operator. To facilitate this, a pair of arms 35 and 36 are employed extending from opposite sides of the end of the discharge spout, as best shown in Fig. 4. These arms also are of advantage in supporting the spout upon the sides of the water hole when the same is in delivery position, as indicated at 37 for a high tender and at 38 for a low tender in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. l

In the spout construction illustrated in Fig. 2, the delivery pipe 28 is given an arcuate curve similar to that of delivery pipe 30 of Fig. 3, andis shown as formed of a single piece of steel pipe properly curved. The spout 40 is preferably formed of sheet metal in a manner similar'tothe spout 31, with the same curve along the top line and expanding in funnel shape from the discharge end to the rear thereof, excepting that the bottom portion, as indicated at 41, is united along a chord of the arc, thus giving a larger amount of freedom of movement to the spout section relative to the end of the delivery pipe. A chain 39 is secured to the inner side of the delivery pipe 28 as indicated at 42, and at the other end is secured to an eye 43 just back of a grabl hook 44 carried uponl the chord portion 41 l of the "spout 40. As clearly indicated in dotted lines, when the spout 40 is in its retracted position the chain will extend part way up into the spout and so besupported in a retracted` position. When the spout is at its lowermost position as indicatedv in full lines in Fig-2, the chain 39 will be fully extended and will restrain outward lateral movement of they lspout under any impulse due to the -movement of water through the same. When the spout is used at a higher level thesame effect is produced by catching a portion of the chain in the grab hook at 44, as indicated in dotted lines at45 of Fig. 2. f

The preferred form of construction is I illustratedl in Fig. 1. In this construction the discharge pipe 60 is not curved in the arc of a circle but, instead, is curved on the principle of an involute or Archimedean, spiral, moving from the greatest radius at the point of connection to the standpipe to the smallest radius at the end of the nozzle. This gives to the discharge end portion 61 of the delivery pipea much more marked downward dip than can be secured from the same lateral extension on an arcuate curve. The discharge pipe 60 preferably -isf provided with a top rib 62of angle iron and an angle stop 63 at its extreme outer end, as best shown'in Fig. .5. Y Carried by the curved delivery pipe 60 is a discharge spout 64 having a circular discharge'end 65, a top 66 curved' in a manner conforming to the top curve of the pipe 60 and a somewhat oval orv elongated rear opening 67, as best shown in Fig. 5.- From the rear opening 67 .to the circular discharge end 65 the lower portion of the spout is extended valong a straight chord` line as indicated at 68. The interior of the spout therefore is expanding or of increas-Y ing size along its major axis from the rear opening 67 toa point transverse of the mid-v dle portion of the spout, from which portion the spout decreases in major diameter to the point of union with .the circular discharge Y end 65, theminor diameter being varied little if any throughout so as to vfreely envelop the delivery pipeA 60, as clearly indicated in Fig. 5. 'A chain 70, secured at 71 to the inner side of spout 64 and passing over a roller or lpulley 72 carried by a. bracket 73 on the inner side of the curved delivery pipe 60, has connected to the free end thereof a weight 7 30V which always keeps the extent of chain between the spout and the pulley drawn tight. This restrains lateral movement' ofthe lower end of the spout in any position and tends to hold the spout in its re- 732 onl the under side of the delivery pipel 60 and'ito `the rear end of thedischarge spout 64 atl the bottomv thereof, as shown in Fig. 1. This chain limits movement of the higher will seize the handles spout 64 in both its inward and outward positions, coming inside the spout when the spout is retracted into operative position and being outside the spout as shown in Fig.

V 1 when the spout is in its maximum-outwardA .relative to the discharge pipe, and the rfact that this opening is of great length at and near the center portions of the spout, vthe spout 64 may in any of its `forward positions have a considerable range of swinging movement in the plane of the curved., delivery pipe, and also laterally with respect thereto. This gives a very great range of practically vertical movement of the delivery end 65. AsV indicated in F ig.` 1, this' range is from the lower manholes 75 up to the higher typev of manholes indicated. in dotted lines at 76, but a still higher delivery is possible by reason of the fact that the manholes of high tenders are usually transV versely elongated as indicated in the drawing, so that the spout 64 might be `further retractedA on the delivery pipe and swung upwardly to deliver into a considerably tender relatively than shown, if desired.V Tnall of these positions the lower wall or channel 68 of the spout will incline quite sharply from the point ,of delivery of the delivery pipe thereinto, which taken in connection with the transverse expansion of the spout along its major diameter will always insure free, rapid and perfect drainage at the maximumv capacity of the delivery pipe, without regurgitation, backing up or spilling. Arms 35 and 36are applied to spout 64 inthe same manner as to spouts31 and 40 heretofore referred to. Y 1

Vlt will be understood that spouts 64 and 40, as well as spout 31, are preferably made from sheet metal fabricated and welded so as to make an integral member of the desired size and shape. Y

The spout 64, as shown in combination with the discharge spout 60, is wholly supported and slides upon the angle iron rib 62. This gives a very small area of `supporting contact even when the spout is in Contact throughout its length. In practice the operator in pulling the spout out into position Y 35 and 36 and slightly Y lift the outer end of the spout so that the same will contact with the supporting surface of rib 62 only at a single point at the rear. This makes it practicable to move the spout outward into operative position very easily and the oscillating movement is always readily accomplished `by reason of the fact that the longitudinal diameter across any section of thel spout is relatively large.

Chain in` connection with weight7 3 will always exercise sufficient restraint. upon the end ofV the spout to prevent outward movement thereof when the free end is positioned with the arms 35 and 36 resting upon the edges of the manholes as'indicated in Fig. 1.-

If it is desired, the operator may additionally restrain the spout by stepping upon the chain and holding it with his foot, which vis useful particularly in the higher elevations ofthe spout. A stop 77 on the chainj 7 3 Vmay be used to restrain movement of the spout outwardly when the same Vis at any usual delivery-position. l

As shown in Figs. 3 and 6 the spout 31, or for that matter any of theotherforins of spouts if desired, maybe provided withv a roller 80 journaled ona the upper portion of the rear end of the spout, which roller is adapted to roll along the curved upper surface ofthe delivery pipe 30. A lever 82 which projects through a slot 83 in the wall of the spout31 is also pivotally carried on the pinr81 and is also Vprovided with a cam toe 84. When the lever bottom wall of the delivery p ipe 30. Vlhen the lever 82 is in its up position the'catch 85 will not engage any of the teeth 86, thus permitting the spout to be movedalong the delivery pipe. The catch 85 will, however, engage a high tooth 88 on Vthe outer lend, of bar 87, even when lever 82 is raised. By pulling down on lever 82 at any time the cam toe 84'operating against the upper wall of delivery pipe 30 will lift the rear of spout 31 and bring the catch 85 into engagement with any of the teeth 86, thus-restraining further forward movement of the spout. lVhen it is desired to restore the spout` it is only necessary to push back on the same and the cam toe will automatically swing out of engagement with the top of the spout and bring the lever into the up position of Fig. 3. Y

A modification is shown in Fig. 10 applied to spout 40 and delivery pipe 28. Here a multiplicity of rollers 90 are provided along the top curveof the delivery pipe 28 upon which the spout 40 is supported and along which it may roll freely. A weight 91 is connected by a cord 92 with the rear end of spout 40, preferably passing over the rollers 90 and a roller 93 carried by flange member 27, the several rollers `being vpreferably grooved to form a'guide for cord'92. A

. 96 is released and the spout Ll0 may be restored to original position.

The purpose of curving the delivery nozzle along the line of an Archimedean spiral as shown in Fig. l, is to obtain a sufficient downward dip to the end of the discharge nozzle to insure perfect flow and drainage no matter how high the discharge spout may be vraised or oscillated at its point of supportvupon the discharge nozzle. In this connection it is contemplated that a discharge spout of the type shown in Fig. l will be employed, and it must be borne in mind that the oscillation of such a discharge spout in a vertical plane not only permits great range of movement of the discharge end of the spout in a substantially vertical line, but also, in combination with the discharge nozzle, makes practicable an in-andout movement of the spout so as to adapt the same construction for use between track centers of' varying width. This effect can perhaps be best obtained by the use of a nozzle curved alongthe line of an Archimedean spiral. Substantially the same effect may,

however, be obtained by the use of a discharge spout such as shown in Fig. l in combination with a nozzle `having an arcuate curve -on a radius less than half of the distance between track centers, or by carrying the -nozzle forward a substantial distance beyond the vertical plane parallel with the tracks passing through the center of curvature. This will give the required downward dip to the delivery end of the nozzle and at the same time will provide the proper support for oscillation of the discharge spout 66 to enableit to be used for delivery of water through a varying horizontal as well as vertical range.

The advantages of my invention have been pointed out in considerable detail in connection with the description thereof. It will be apparent that bycmaking a waterconveying member which bridges across my standpipe to the water hole out of a curved delivery pipe and a correspondingly-curved spout supported by and upon the delivery pipe, a structure of marked simplicity results which can be cheaply built and maintained. Furthermore, the broad and natural curve of delivery provided by this bridging member is such as to facilitate exceedingly rapid flow of water, which is a matter of great importance in water-deliverinoq devices of the type of my invention. lso, by using sheet metal both for the delivery pipe and the curved spout, said sheet metal being integrally united at all junction points, preferably by acetylene welding, a structure which is light, strong and durable andwhich fully responds to the requirementsof myv invention will result.l This structure has a great range of movement of thev discharge Vend of the spout in a substantially vertical line over the water holes of tendersfon the tracks, has capacity for receiving and delivering from any sized standpipe the maXimum flow of water possible of such a standpipe without spilling or regurgitation; can

be operated with great ease and certainty and drains perfectly, obviating anychance of freezing or forming ice heaps.

l. A railway water column comprisingv a standpipe having a curved delivery nozzle,

and a correspondingly-curved discharge spout which together form a continuously curved water coursekof variable length.

2. A railway water column comprising a standpipe having a curved delivery nozzle, and a correspondingly-curvedv discharge spout which together form a continuouslycurved water course of variable length, said spout being slidably mounted on the r`discharge nozzle. v

8. A railway water column comprisinga standpipe, a removable section lon the end of said standpipe, valve-operating mechanism carried by said section, and a curved delivery nozzle detachably supported upon said section.

4. A railway water column comprising a standpipe', a removable sectiony on the end of said standpipe', a leverpivoted'on said section, means operated bythe lever to actuate valve mechanism, and a curved delivery pipe detachably supported yupon the end of the section. f

5. A railwayy water column comprisingla standpipe, a removable section onthe 4end of saidstandpipe, a shaft journaled in the section and connectionsl therefrom for operating valve mechanism, a U lever ,havingl the arms thereof connected with'saidshaft'on each side .of the section and extending outwardly and forwardly, and a curved nozzle extending between the arms of the U lever.

6. A railway water column comprising a standpipe, a removable section on the end of said standpipe, a shaft journaled in the section and connections therefrom for operating valve mechanism, a U lever having the arms thereof connected with said shaft; on each side of the section and extending out-V wardly and forwardly, a curved nozzle eX- tending between the arms of the U lever, and means for restoring the U lever and parts connected therewith to initial position after operation thereof.

7 A railway water column comprising a standpipe terminating in a delivery nozzle curved along the line of an involute or Archimedean spiral, and a discharge 'spout cooperating therewith, the upper portion of said spout being correspondingly curved and the lower portion extending along a chord of said curve.

8. vA railway water column comprising a lstandpipe terminating in a delivery nozzle curved along the line of an involute or Archimedean spiral, and a discharge spout having its upper portion correspondingly curved and engaging the upper portion of said nozzle and 'having its lower portion extending along a chord of said curve. l

9. A railway water column comprising a standpipe terminating in a delivery nozzle of circular cross section curved along the line of an involute or Archimedean spiral,

fand a discharge spout movablealong and in oscillating relation to said nozzle, said discharge spout loosely enveloping the nozzle and being relatively expanded between the respective ends of the spout.

10. A railway Vwater column comprising a standpipe terminating in a delivery nozzle of circular cross section curved along the line of an involute or Archimedean spiral,

'slida le therealong.V

12. A railway water column comprising a standpipe terminating in a curved delivery portion, a correspondingly-curved rib on the V,top of said delivery portion, a spout engagingand supported by said rib and slidable therealong,V and a pair of arms extending outwardly in opposite directions from the dischargel end 'of the' spout.

13. A railway water column comprising a standpipe terminating in a curved delivery portion, a correspondingly-curved rib on the top of said delivery portion, a spout engaging and supported by said rib andslidable therealong, a pair of arms extending outwardly in opposite directions from the discharge end of the spout, and a flexible connector between the outer end of the spout and the standpipe for restraining lateraly movement of the spout.

14. A railway water column comprising a standpipe having a curved delivery nozzle, a correspondingly-curved discharge spout movably supported on and by the nozzle, and a chain connected to the nozzle and to the rear end of the discharge spout for limiting` movement of the discharge spout in both directions. v

15. A railway water column comprising ia'-y revoluble'standpipe terminating in a laterally-extended delivery portion, a bail Vsecured to the end of said portion so as to bridge the open mouth thereof, and a discharge spout movable along said delivery portion and over said bail. f

16. A railway water column comprising a vrevoluble standpipe terminating in a laterally-extended delivery portion, and a bail rigidly secured to the end of the deliveryy portion and bridging itsV open mouth'by which the standpipe and said portion may be revolved. Y

17. A railway water column comprisingna standpipe havingaV delivery nozzle with la* curved upper surface, a discharge spout enveloping said nozzle, and a roller journaledin the rear of said discharge spout and engageable with said curved upper surface, said roller by engagement with said curved'upper surface operating as the vsole means of support 'of the spout while the same is being forwarded along the curved nozzle.

EDWARD E. JoHNsoN.l

In testimony whereof I affix my signature. Y 

